Extensible table.



PATENTED JAN. 17, 1905.

J. A. F. WOLF.

EXTBNSIBLE TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1904.

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ExrENsieLE TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,148, dated January 17, 1905.

Application filed July 14, 1904. Serial No. 216,553.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH A. F. WOLF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sidney, in the county of Cheyenne and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Extensible Table, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tables, and is designed to provide an improved extensible table capable of being conveniently folded and extended and also arranged to afford a receptacle for containing dishes or any other articles when the table is in its folded position.

Another object is to provide for the convenient raising and lowering of the table-top, so as to bring the latter flush with the top of the frame of the table when the table is extended and to lower the top into the well of the table-frame when the table is folded.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanyingdrawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, itbeing understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minordetails may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the extensible table embodying the features of the present invention in its extended condition. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the table in its extended condition.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each and every figure of the drawings.

The frame of the present table is made up of leg-standards 1, which are connected by spaced upper and lower side rails 2 and 3 and end pieces 4 with a bottom. 5, fitted between the upper and lower side rails so as to constitute a well or receptacle between the sides and ends and the bottom of the frame. Vilithin the well is a vertically-movable top 6\which is supported flush with the top of the frame when the table is in its extended condition in a manner as will be hereinafter described.

Foldable leaves 7 are connected to the opposite sides of the frame of the table by means of suitable hinges 8 and are supported in their open positions by means of brackets 9. hinged to the opposite sides of the table and capable of being folded into recesses in the sides of the table, so as to lie substantially flush therewith when the leaves are folded inwardly upon the top of the table. lt will of course be understood that each leaf is equal in width to one-half the width of the table-frame, so that when folded inwardly across the top of the frame their inner edges will abut and the combined width of the leaves will just equal the width of the table-frame.

"lhe vertically-movable table-top 6 is supported upon four endwise-movable rods 10, which work in openings 11 in the bottom of the table and also through openings in the cross-bars 12, secured to the legs and the lower edges of the lower side rail 3 of the tableframe. Slotted wear-plates 13 are applied to the under side of the bottom of the table in alinemcnt with the openings 11 therein to take the wear of the rods 10, and similar plates 14 are provided upon the cross-bars 12. The upper ends of the rod 10 are provided with heads or shoulders 15, upon which the movable table-top is supported.

For convenience in movingthe slid able rods 10 a pair of verticallyswinging levers 16 and 17 are disposed below the bottom of the table and have their outer ends pivotally connected to the intermediate portions of the rods and are connected for simultaneous movement by means of cross-bars 18 and diagonal braces 19, each lever being fulcrumed intermediate of its ends upon a vertical link 20, which has its upper end pivotally hung from a bracket 21, secured to the under side of the bottom of the table. A cross-bar 22 connects the inner ends of one of the pairs of levers and projects at the outer sides thereof to form pins or projections 23, which work in longitudinal slots 24 in the inner ends of the other pair oflevers, thereby connecting the pairs of levers for simultaneous operation in the same direction.

A controlling device 25 in the form of a rod or bar is pivoted intermediate of its ends upon the cross-bar 22, with its lower end terminating in a handle 26 and its upper end formed for engagement with a keeper 27, provided upon the under side of the bottom of the table, there being a bifurcated guideway 28 leading to the socket of the keeper, so as to guide the upper free end of the controlling device 25 thereto.

In the folded condition of the table the top 6 is at its lowermost limit and rests upon the bottom of the table, whereby the levers 16 and 17 have their inner ends elevated and their outer ends depressed, while the leaves 7 are folded inwardly upon the top of the frame so as to close the well and at the same time afford a table-top. It will here be noted that the well of the table-frame affords a receptacle for containing articles of any kind, especially dishes, as the present table has been particularly designed for use as a dining-table. In this connection when the table top is elevated a table-cloth may be spread over the table and the dishes ordinarily employed at meal-time placed upon the movable table-top, after which the latter may be lowered into the well, the free edges of the table-cloth folded over the dishes and the leaves folded inwardly, whereby the dishes are contained within the table without interfering with the use of the table in a general capacity. When it is desired to set the table for a meal, the leaves are opened, the table-top elevated by drawing down upon the handle 26 of the controller 25, so as to depress the inner ends of the levers, and thereby elevate the rods 10, the upper free end of the controller being engaged with the keeper 27 to lock the levers and the table-top at the upper limit of the latter. After the table-top has been elevated the free edges of the table-cloth may be removed from the dishes and spread over the leaves and thenthe dishes may be moved to their proper places upon the extended table-top.

From the foregoing description it will be noted that the frame of the present table is rigid and has no slidable or movable parts which are required to be moved in folding and extending the table, whereby the frame will not become loose under the repeated actions of folding and extending the table, which is a very important advantage, as it materially increases the life of the table. Moreover, by the employment of the vertically-movable table-top working in a well in the frame of the tacle a receptacle is afforded for containing articles of any character in the folded condition of the table. By reason of the fact that the vertically-movable table-top is flush with the top of the frame of the table only at its upper limit the leaves may be folded inwardly without depressing the table-top when it is not desired to make use of the well as a receptacle for containing dishes or other articles.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A table comprising aframe havinga well, a vertically-movable table-top working in the well, opposite vertically-swinging levers fulcrumed intermediate of their ends upon the under side of the frame, a connection for the inner ends of the levers, rods rising from the outer ends of the levers and connected to the table-top, a keeper upon the bottom of the frame and located above the connection for the inner ends of the levers, and a controllinglever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends upon the connection between the first-mentioned levers, one end of the controlling-lever being formed into a handle and its opposite end formed for engagement with the keeper to lock the inner connected ends of the levers depressed with the table-top elevated.

2. Atable comprisingaleg-supported frame having a well, a vertically-movable table-top working in the well, vertically-movable rods connected to the table top and working through the bottom of the frame, brackets upon the bottom of the frame, links loosely hung from the brackets, levers intermediately fulcrumed upon the respective links with their outer ends pivotally connected to the respective vertically-movable rods, a cross-bar carried by the inner ends of a pair of levers and working in longitudinal slots in another pair of levers, a keeper carried by the under side of the bottom of the frame in vertical alinement with the cross-bar, and a controller-bar pivoted intermediate of its ends upon the cross-bar with one end provided with a handle and its opposite end formed for engagement 

